Duelist Legacy
by Darc Palidin
Summary: Cloud Striktin has just become an orphan. His life was always of tradgedy. But he follows the path he must take... the path to victory...
1. Default Chapter

Chapter I  
  
"No mother, dont leave me." I whispered as I sat beside my mom in the Livingston Hospital. The one we would usually go to. I was gripping her hand tight, but there was not the slightest movement in my mother.  
  
She was the only thing I had left in a family. My grandparents have all died before I was born. I never really had cousins, uncles, and aunts, never really met the ones I thought I had. My dad had been part of the military, but died a year ago as he got shot in the battlefield, risking his life to save those of ours. My little brother died quickly like right when he was born. And my brother was in jail for life, never return to smell the fresh air. Never return being able to see the light. In ways, I dont even know if this was my true family. I was nothing like them. I was usually a good person without the "tough stuff" like that of my father and brother. I don't have the family diseases that runs through the family except for one that was equal to that of my mothers.  
  
My mother was the closest thing I had to life. She would feed me when I was starving. Basically, she would risk her life to save that of mine. She had never yelled at me, though she did with my older brother.  
  
And now I am left alone. With no one to care about me. I will not leave my mother. But I must find something to save her because I am sure that she will fail soon, and that is a path I am not going to take.  
  
I confidently got out of my chair and walked towards the door. Hand on the door knob, and now twisting. The door was then open. "Bye, mother." I said as I left the room.  
  
Well, visiting hour was over anyway, so it didn't matter. But I really wanted to stay with my mother for the certain time in which she could stay. I would like to stay with her as long as I could. But I knew I must go search... I must go search for an answer.  
  
I am now down from the hospital walking alone back home. I look at bill boards. It's all the same. Advertising always for the samethings. Duel monsters.  
  
That's all that is on the bill boards at this time. All about the upcoming tournament with a chance of winning $1,000,000. I would love to join, but sadly I have no cards and no cash to spend.  
  
I am now starving and notice I should get home quicker if I want to get something quicker. I find the old bus, travels for free at night shifts. This is my chance though my house is only three blocks from here. Traveling in this cold wind is really starting to bother my legs. So on the bus I went.  
  
When I looked around. It was an everyday bus except with an expanded amount of people. A section of little kids trading their cards and obtaining other cards they liked. And a teenage section just like that ripping some of the little kids off. I was too cold to say something. There were a section of gangsters with hooded sweatshirts, skateboards, all the like. And one section for the old ones. Grandmas and grandpas I assume. These people awfully reminded me of my own family. My own grandparents, my own little brother, and my own big brother. I had a perfect family, but it just couldn't work out the way I wanted it too.  
  
I picked a seat in back of the little kids and besides the teenagers. Just sitting there staring at the night sky. There were awfully a lot of stops on this night. But it was probably just kids meeting on this bus as a trading site.  
  
"Hello." I heard a child say. And the child repeated. The child repeated over and over that I was starting to get frustrated. I turned around and it seemed the child had been talking to me.  
  
"Yes? How may I help you?" I politely responded.  
  
"Do you have Duel Monster cards?" The child impolitely shouted.  
  
"No." The kid looked surprised.  
  
"You have none?"  
  
"Yes. Dont rub it in." Why had this mysterious kid been talking to me? It's not like I'm anything special.   
  
"Would you like a card, Mr.?"  
  
"Alright. I'll be glad to accept a card from one polite one like you." I tried to play around with this kid. I really didnt want to take the card because I knew it was going to be a bad card. No matter how much this kid stinks at playing Duel Monsters. He is going to give me a bad card. I was sure of it.  
  
The little kid was scanning through his deck for a card he did not like that he would like to give to me. "Ew... This card is a girl card. I don't want it. Here, this is the card that I chose for you."  
  
Indeed this little kid was pretty stupid. Stupider than I thought. He had given me the card Injection Fairy Lilly. "Why thank you." I replied.  
  
"You're welcome. May I sit with you?" I nodded as I moved over closer to the window.   
  
Finally we had gotten to my house and the little kid moved for me to get out. Then something wierd happened. The little kid started following me.  
  
"What are you doing?" I asked. "Where's your mommy?"  
  
"My mommy is in the hospital. She told me to go back home on this bus." It seems his mom had been in the hospital as well. "But I dont know where home is."  
  
"Where is your daddy?"  
  
"He's at work. And doesn't come back home til I am way asleep." He said in that little voice that little kids usually have. It was too mean to just leave him here. After all, he did give me an Injection Fairy Lilly. Why not take him along? Im sure he lives around the neighborhood and his dad is surely to try and find him.  
  
"Alright, come with me then." And he followed. "What is your name?"  
  
"My name is Char-wee." I guess he could really pronounce his "l"s well.  
  
I invited him into my house and treated him to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. How can this new little visitor effect my life? Why did he randomly just give me a really rare card? The tournament awaits me. 


	2. Chapter II

Chapter II  
  
It is official. My mother has passed away. She did last night, probably three hours after I have gone away. I wept as I saw my mother, dead in front of my face. Charley, or Brother as I call him, wept with me.  
  
It seems Brother really doesn't have parents. A very black mystery indeed. He still thinks he does, but finds no sign of his mother in the hospital or a home for him to live in. We've been looking all morning from 3 'o' clock in the morning til 8 'o' clock in the morning. His dad has not been around the neighborhood going from door to door, looking for his child. And I haven't been seeing any police cars driving around our town either. And we have almost walked all over the town.  
  
He seems to be one of those mysterious people you find in video games. One of those people that you don't know whether you should trust or is just an evil demon. But I can see through Brother's eyes that he does not contain evil. Well, he doesnt contain much of anything but a gold mine of Duel Monster cards. He has many of the good cards and amazingly enough, his deck was quite better than I had expected. Had this kid been one of those angel's that guide me in a quest? Hm, I doubt it. I have no quest.  
  
I am now walking along the sidewalk of the hospital with Brother and his teddy bear, Minco, by my side. We just keep on walking as tears just fly down my face. I cannot believe I have no family. No place to really call home, nothing to love. Except for Brother, the only one. His confidence is high and his determination is strong.  
  
"Big Brother, are you okay?" Charley asked me.  
  
"I'm fine, Brother."  
  
"How come you call me Brother and not Little Brother?" Charley asked curiously.  
  
"Because I do not want you to feel little. You will grow some day. Brother."  
  
"Cool. Big Brother." Then there was a slight pause. After walking another block or two, Charley speaks again," Look Brother, a Duel Monsters tournament starts tomorrow. Let's join."  
  
"I cant. You stopped calling me Big Brother haven't you?"  
  
"Yes. I have, dont want you to feel big. But that's off-topic. Why won't you join?"  
  
"I do not have any Duel Monster cards besides the one you have given me. You can join if you'd like. But I'll have to work off some money today first."  
  
Brother looked down at the ground at sadness. Tears started dropping down his face again. He didnt care if joined, he cares if I join with him. I could see that within every drop of his tears.  
  
Finally we walked back home in the cold winter wind. The breeze whipping at our face. It felt so good to be back at our warm home. "Let's get some cocoa." I said.  
  
"Yay! Cocoa. Make sure it's hot cocoa." Brother said in his little boy ways.  
  
"No problem. No actually Ill make cold cocoa." I said sarcastically.  
  
"NO!!!" Charley screamed.  
  
"Ha! I was just kidding Brother." As tears stopped falling down his face and he was now happy again.  
  
I walked towards the cabinet to get the hot cocoa mix. I took it out as Brother was jumping up and down saying," Let me have it! Let me have it!"  
  
I was teasing him by putting it low at a rate that he could jump and grab. Then when he jumped, I would pull it back up to my head height. It was fun indeed. So this was what it's like to have a little brother. Finally he was a deep red and kicked me hard in the shin. I let out a little cry and said," Okay. Fine I'll stop."  
  
I let him hold the glass jar of cocoa while he was "dancing" with it. You know jumping all over the place with that jar of cocoa mix. Finally he took off the lid and was about to drink it. "No, Brother. Don't!" I screamed as his little head turned towards me and a few drops off the cocoa fell onto the couch that he was standing on.  
  
"What?" Brother asked.  
  
"It's not done yet."   
  
"It's not?"  
  
"Why were you jumping around with it?" I asked as I got closer to him.  
  
"Well I saw a commercial last night of this choclate milk. It said "Shake Stuff Up". So I was jumping around shaking it and making sure it tasted good." I chuckled then grabbed the jar of cocoa mix and started to make it.  
  
I was about to pour the powder into a glass of hot water when the phone ringed. I stopped.  
  
I walked towards the phone, picked it up, and said," Hello?"  
  
"Hi. Is Cloud there?" Indeed she knew my name. Cloud. But everyone just called me Clou. It's Clow when you pronounce it. "Is Cloud there? Cloud Striktin?" She asked in my hesitation.  
  
"Oh yes. This is Cloud Striktin. Speaking. Present. Here." I said in a nervous voice.  
  
"Because of the fact that you cannot afford a funeral and a burial. We will have a little one over by the hospital. Come at five o' clock PM sharp. You have also inherited an amount of your mother's items." An amount? But I am the only child left. Other than my brother that was in jail for life. But what could he do with the money that mother had left? "All right, Cloud?"  
  
"Yes that's fine. So Livingston Hospital at five o' clock PM sharp. Got it!" I said as a wrote it down on a sticky note and stuck it on my computer, the place that I wouldn't forget where it was. Though my computer was a cruddy one. Always crashes and jams. No printer, speakers, barely much. It came with the house. It was an old Packard Bell with a very old Windows on it. Before Windows 95. Either that or it was Macintosh, a very cruddy one. But I am no man of this technical stuff.  
  
Then the phone hung up. I realized I was in my hesitation again when the nurse had said "bye".   
  
"What happened?" Brother asked.  
  
"We got to go to the hospital again at five PM sharp. Got it?"  
  
"Alright, Brother. No problem with me." He said. "I just want my cocoa. You gonna make the cocoa?" Oh yea! The cocoa.  
  
"Alright just a minute." I said as I rubbed his hair on his head. I poured the mix into the glass of water which was cooling down now. "Now just wait a while." I said.  
  
After a little while later. The cocoa had been done and we rapidly drank it all down. Soon it was four PM and I was to go to the hospital.  
  
"Alright let's go, Brother."  
  
"But there's still a hour. Can't we go a little later."  
  
"No." I strictly said and he was shocked. He had never seen me so serious. So he quickly took his Duel Monster deck out we went.  
  
We walked on the sidewalk. Brother seemed to be quiet this time. He never talked the whole way through. And then we finally got to the hospital. We were 4 minutes early. But I knew we would be late if we didn't run right into the hospital now.   
  
"Hello. Check in?" the nurse at the check-in table asked.  
  
"Cloud. Cloud Striktin. And my brother, Charley." The nurse typed it in. "And the teddy bear is Minco." the nurse looked at me oddly and ignored me. "Your here for your mom's little funeral."   
  
"Yes, I am."  
  
"Alright, go straight from there and go left. Then down the corrider. You will see a room with cabinets that is cold. Some nurses and doctors will be there. Just walk right in.   
  
I did as told. And I rapidly opened the door to this frozen room.  
  
"Hello Charley. This is your mother." He said as he opened a cabinet door and there lay my mother frozen. "I thought you might like another glance at your mother."  
  
"Thank you. Doctor. But what did you want me here for?" I asked curiously.  
  
"This, Cloud. Your mother has given you this little gift though I do not know what it is. And some money for you to survive on. You will also be moved to an orphanage as we do not want to leave you alone at home and there you will hopefully find a foster home to live with."  
  
"Thank you doctor." I said but I really hated the idea of going to an orphanage. "What about Charley?"  
  
"He shall come with you." He said as he handed me a little cloth wrapping something mysterious. And a small amount of money. I'd say $1000. As you can see my family was very poor. Poorer than I thought. So I guess some might have gone to my brother that was in jail.  
  
"Thank you doctor." I said one more time.  
  
"You may leave now, Cloud." The doctor told me as I walked over to the door, opened it, and took one more quick glance of my now dead mother. Then I close it.  
  
I walked out of the hospital, now in the side walk and un-wrapped my gift that my mother gave to me. It was my favorite Duel Monster card. The card I was always looking at in the glass of the shops. But always too expensive to get alone. It was of glory. I stared at it in deep concentration. It was the card Airknight Parshath. The best of them in my opinion.  
  
When Brother saw the card. His eyebrows raised. "Brother! The tournament! The tournament!"   
  
"Excuse me?" I said.  
  
"Join the tournament. Use the little money you have to get some cards and I will support you with the extra cards that I have." That wasn't a bad idea. It would also keep me out of the orphanage depending on how long I stay in the game. With my two cards and my cash, I may be able to enter the tournament and win the money. But that will be a big risk as this $1000 will be my last. And if I do not spend it wisely. It will be the orphanage for me until I'm old enough to get out there. Although I will be living on the streets. But this is a risk I'm willing to take. Either way, $1000 is never going to support my life. It appeared tournament entry was $100, but it provided you with a hotel to stay in, a duel disk, and a tournament I.D. But there were no Locator Cards like there were in the other tournament which just happened about a year ago. This time there were color stars on your duel disk. Once you have all of them, a figure will appear directing to where you should go for the finals.  
  
"Alright, Brother. Let's join." I finally said after much thought and we raced back home for the sake of my future as tournament entry time was slimming down and I still had lots more to do. Will I really win this tournament? Determination will guide the way. 


End file.
